The next North American leaders summit – where Canada, the United States and Mexico have met to discuss progress on the Security and Prosperity Partnership – will take place August 9 and 10 in Guadalajara, Mexico and Canadians know almost nothing about it.
President Barack Obama promised in February 2008 that all future North American leaders summits “will be conducted with a level of transparency that represents the close ties among our three countries,” and that he “will seek the active and open involvement of citizens, labor, the private sector and non-governmental organizations in setting the agenda and making progress.”
With so little time before the next summit, and so little information about the agenda, this promise is unlikely to become a reality. We are even more disappointed that Prime Minister Harper has made no such promise of inclusivity, despite the clearly stated concerns of Canadians across the country over the past several years that the SPP is wrong for North America.
DEMAND A SAY IN NORTH AMERICA’S FUTURE
We need you to help get the word out that Canadians, Mexicans and Americans are once again being excluded from the North American dialogue. Cooperation across borders is necessary and beneficial when it is in the interests of all peoples, but the SPP was about a very narrow, corporate version of cooperation that put profits before people. The SPP perpetuated and expanded an unsustainable energy and trade model while placing new barriers to the movement of people in the form of draconian security measures.
TAKE ACTION!
In the lead up to the next North American summit you can do two things:
- Write to Industry Minister Tony Clement (Clement.T@parl.gc.ca), Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca), International Trade Minister Stockwell Day (DayS@parl.gc.ca), Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon (CannoL@parl.gc.ca) and your MP to let them know you oppose the SPP model of North American integration and will not tolerate our leaders re-starting it in Mexico this August. Click HERE to find your MP’s contact information.
- Write a letter to the editor of your local paper to explain to your community what was wrong with the SPP, and how secretive and exclusive a process it has been. Click HERE to find email addresses.
To inspire your letter, please read through the Integrate This! website or use the sample letter below.
Click here to read the Guadalajara Reporter article.
SAMPLE LETTER
Minister Clement and Prime Minister Harper,
I understand that the next North American leaders summit will take place this August 9 and 10 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Will you commit to not re-starting the failed Security and Prosperity Partnership dialogue, which was unpopular in Canada, Mexico and the United States, at this meeting?
President Obama said in February 2008 that all future North American leaders summits “will be conducted with a level of transparency that represents the close ties among our three countries,” and that he “will seek the active and open involvement of citizens, labor, the private sector and non-governmental organizations in setting the agenda and making progress.”
I believe the SPP failed not only because of its policy implications, but because it excluded public opinion and considered only the interests of North America’s largest corporations, who received privileged access to leaders through the North American Competitiveness Council – a 30-member blue-chip advisory group that is not accountable to the public.
The vision of North American security and economic integration these corporations proposed simply expanded and fortified (with new security measures) an unsustainable trade and energy model. Canadians, Mexicans and Americans are all calling for new models that put people and communities before corporate profits.
I urge you to release a list of your government’s priorities for the upcoming North American summit in Mexico, commit to not re-starting the failed SPP dialogue, and to give Canadians a chance to shape our priorities for North American cooperation. We will not tolerate another tri-national dialogue that only considers the opinions of the big business community.
I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
